This invention relates to monoclonal antibodies specific for Mycoplasma pneumoniae. More specifically, this invention involves hybridomas which produce monoclonal antibodies specific for M. pneumoniae antigens and their use for purification of M. pneumoniae protein antigens and in a diagnostic test.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a microorganism which colonizes the mucosal surface of the respiratory tract, causes primary atypical pneumonia in children and young adults. The symptoms of the disease are relatively mild and current diagnostic methods are suboptimal, consequently the incidence of the disease is probably underestimated. Infection with M. pneumoniae is often accompanied by the appearance of cold agglutinins in the patient's serum, a rise in complement fixation (CF) titer, and the production of antibody that inhibits the metabolic processes of the pathogen.
The most commonly used serological diagnostic test for M. pneumoniae is an assay for increased CF titer that uses a lipid hapten extracted from the organism as the target antigen. However, lipids are rarely good immunogens unless complexed to protein. Because of the relative unreliability of the CF assay for M. pneumoniae, there is a need for diagnostic methods which allow more accurate monitoring and diagnosis of this disease.